Survival
by lalalei
Summary: The Shadow Realm is a place of torment and pain, where monsters prey on the unwary and one's soul can be shredded to pieces. After Bakura's defeat at Yami Marik's hands, Ryou Bakura must contend with the Realm and all of its dangers-assuming he survives that long.
_Cold_. That was the first thing Ryou Bakura felt, even before he opened his eyes. When he did they were tired and heavy, and it took him a moment to comprehend what was around him. Or, rather, the _nothing_ that was around him.

He was in a limitless void of shadows. The only colors Ryou could see were muted purples, reds, blues, and blacks. There was an occasional—though thankfully far-off—bout of dark lightning, its sound closer to static than thunder.

It took him a moment to place where he was, his mind hazy and unfocused, but in an instant Ryou remembered. He'd met his friends in the forest of Duelist Kingdom and asked for a duel, and suddenly there was a persistent fog in his head. He'd felt an uncontrollable urge to show Yugi his Millennium Ring, and the thought came so naturally he thought nothing of it.

And there was a _voice_ that was determined to take what had been a friendly match and give it life-or-death stakes. Ryou was so busy trying to block it out, pretending nothing was wrong, that he hadn't even realized the voice had taken over until his soul was ripped clean from his body and buried in the deck of cards. But from that position, Ryou had heard what was going on, and knew where his friends were.

He knew where he was now.

The Shadow Realm.

How had he gotten here? The last thing Ryou clearly remembered was being in horrible pain as Yugi—no, Yami Yugi—stood across from him, horrified. There was a duel disk strapped around his injured left arm, weighing it down further, and he'd knelt for lack of strength to stand. (He had no idea how he'd gotten that injury, only that it had happened too fast for him to process it.) There had been a dragon of some kind barreling down on him, and Yugi would have rather forfeited than see him hurt. So it couldn't have been Yugi's other self that sent him here; he had a vague recollection of the Spirit of the Ring helping him for once, shielding his spirit with his own.

The pain from his arm was still there, but it seemed duller, muted. Maybe it had healed in the time after the duel, when he'd gotten some proper sleep. Ryou rejected that idea as soon as it came to mind, suddenly recalling Tea—or what looked like her—arriving with the Ring in tow, which had instantly woken him up. Ryou had foggy memories of a man named Marik in his head, striding across his mind like he owned it. Clearly, the Spirit of the Ring had gone to do something _else_ with his body, disregarding his needs.

This tournament, Ryou decided, was a disaster. He'd been stabbed, threatened, possessed, mind controlled, and had nightmares—when he was able to sleep for more than a few hours. And now he was stuck, alone in the Shadow Realm.

And the Realm was _cold_ , cold and biting. Ryou shivered, wishing he'd brought his sweater along with him; his striped shirt and jacket were short-sleeved, and could only protect him so much. Ryou searched his pockets for anything he _did_ have and was surprised to find his deck with him. Thumbing through the cards, he saw it was a mix of his tarot-themed deck and his occult deck. Perhaps it reflected off of his soul, since the Shadow Realm was a prison for souls.

The thought of a prison made Ryou's eyes instinctively flick to his chest, where the Ring usually lay. He'd long given up trying to rid himself of the cursed artifact; no matter what he did, it always came back.

But it wasn't there. There was no rope around his neck, no heavy, golden weight, no spikes sticking into him through his shirt. His thoughts were clear, his mind unclouded for the first time since he'd laid eyes on Yugi's Puzzle.

"Great," Ryou muttered. "The Ring's gone and I can't enjoy it at all."

Well, standing here wouldn't get him anywhere—from the way the lightning seemed closer and the shadows at his feet thicker, it might even be dangerous. Ryou glanced around him, ensuring that nothing was coming to get him, and started walking.

He hadn't gone more than a few steps when a large black cat leapt out of the darkness, directly in his path. Ryou jumped, startled, and saw that it had golden jewelry attached to its paws and tail, and a dangerous-looking, spiky pendant for a collar. Its eyes were a burning red.

It took Ryou a moment to place it, but he eventually recognized it as a Duel Monster. "You're A Cat of Ill Omen, aren't you," he said at last.

The cat purred and nuzzled against his pant leg, and he almost made to pet it before its name, its eyes, and the toothy collar warned him against it. It reminded Ryou of the Cheshire Cat from _Alice in Wonderland_ , but he supposed there were worse monsters he could've run into. At least this one seemed friendly.

That thought lasted until he started to walk away, at which point it pounced, digging its claws into him as it leapt on his shoulders.

"Ah!" Ryou cried out in pain and tried to shake the cat off, but it clung to his jacket and swiped at him with a paw, scratching his right arm. He gritted his teeth and flung off the jacket, taking the cat with it. It hissed at him before scampering back into the shadows.

Ryou reclaimed his jacket and breathed a sigh of relief. The Cat of Ill Omen had only 500 Attack points in the card game, but he supposed it didn't mean much when going up against a human. He looked at the scratches on his arm and was unnerved by what he saw.

His arm wasn't bleeding, but the cuts looked deep enough that he _should_ be bleeding. Ryou wiped at it and watched as shadows trailed off his hand, dissipating into the Shadow Realm itself. After a moment, the stinging pain gave way to the feeling of his skin wrenching itself into place, which was worse than the cat's claws had been.

When his arm healed enough Ryou searched his deck. Since he had no idea how to get out of the Shadow Realm, survival took priority. If other Duel Monsters came looking for a meal, he'd give them a fight instead.

Ryou blinked at the next card between his fingers, a round orange ball with pink wings and a heart on its head. Then he laughed. It was almost the complete opposite of everything that normally went in his deck, but here it could be his savior. The Happy Lover card had only 800 Attack and 500 Defense, but it was a Light-attribute monster, and its low level, in theory, made it easy to summon. There was only one way to find out.

Ryou raised the card. "I summon Happy Lover!"

Instantly, he felt dizzy. Static crept into his mind, building to a rush of noise that threatened to drown him. He tried to focus his energy, concentrating on the card and willing the monster into being. For a moment Ryou thought he'd black out from the strain, but the feeling passed, and the Happy Lover floated above him. It looked warily at the shadows surrounding them.

"Um… hello. I don't suppose you know a way out of here," Ryou asked.

The Happy Lover chirped in reply, shaking its head.

"Right, I didn't think so. I-I'm sorry if I haven't used your card in a while. To be honest, I never expected _this_. Could you…"

He paused a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase the question.

"Could you scout ahead and keep an eye out for monsters? You'd have to fight them off. I don't think I can summon any more monsters at the moment."

The Happy Lover nodded and puffed out its form, trying to look brave, and Ryou smiled. "Alright then! Let's keep going."

Ryou still didn't have a destination in mind, but he wasn't sure it would matter if he did. He just had to survive long enough to be rescued—by Yugi's hand or the Spirit's, he wasn't sure.

Ryou wasn't sure how long he'd been walking, but eventually there was a shift in the Shadow Realm's energy that he felt rather than saw. The place felt warmer, the darkness around him a bit brighter, and if he squinted he could just make out something in the distance. Ryou started towards the object, but before he could get far Happy Lover's chirps caught his attention. He looked back, then forward again, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Finally, Ryou looked down—and saw that his shoes were sinking into the darkness beneath him.

Whatever was ahead, even if it was real, was nothing but a trap. Ryou tried to move back, but the darkness was at his ankles and climbing. Then the darkness burst forth, shadows giving way to a putrid green, and Ryou nearly gagged. The monster before him was the Beastking of the Swamps, who was said to devour anything that drew near.

Since Ryou was trespassing, that naturally included him.

The boy struggled and tried to grasp at the solid shadows, barely clinging on—it was difficult when he could hardly tell where the floor was. Happy Lover flew at the swamp monster, a pink beam firing from the heart on its forehead, but it did little more than irritate it. The Beastking swatted at the cherub, which barely dodged. The shadows, meanwhile, were up to Ryou's knees. Any further and he'd be pulled in. If Happy Lover couldn't stop the monster itself, then maybe…

"You can't beat it head-on," Ryou called. "Aim at what's trapping me instead!"

Happy Lover nodded and immediately switched targets, aiming the beam at Ryou's legs. The shadows hissed and writhed, but peeled away, releasing him. Ryou scrambled up to the solid bank, kicking at any shadow residue remaining. Happy Lover flew close to him, narrowly avoiding another swipe of the Beastking's claws. Ryou grinned in relief, but his expression turned to one of horror as the monster lurched forward in pursuit of its prey.

Ryou backed away and searched his deck. If monster cards were out of the question, maybe a spell or trap would work. A trap would be useful, but most of them would only work once. It made the most sense, he thought, to make Happy Lover stronger.

"Axe of Despair," he shouted, and instantly a fiendish-looking axe appeared. Ryou was relieved to find that summoning a spell card took less energy out of him, though he wasn't entirely sure how it would work if Happy Lover had no appendages to wield it. The problem was solved for him when the axe fused to its head, throwing it off-balance briefly but increasing its attack strength. In Duel Monsters, its attack would be at 1800, more than enough to defeat the Beastking of the Swamps.

Happy Lover charged the creature and was immediately knocked aside. Ryou winced, but waited to see what would happen—that axe wasn't for show, after all. It tried again, and this time its attack was successful; it went into a dive and drove the axe straight through the swamp monster. Ryou watched with fascination as it fell apart in clumps, unlike the holograms that shattered into pieces when destroyed. At the Beastking's demise, the swampland around it faded to solid ground.

The object Ryou had seen in the distance was still there, but he didn't feel safe going after it—not at the moment, anyway. It was too risky, and the time he'd spent walking, as well as the drain from summoning cards, had left him tired and quite hungry. Ryou sensed that in the Shadow Realm he wouldn't be able to _sleep_ , but perhaps he could rest for a while to regain some strength. He waved Happy Lover over, trying not to laugh at the axe glued to its head.

"Funny," he mused. "Normally I'd enjoy a situation like this—monsters, magic, the Shadow Realm—though I suppose it's different when it _happens_ to you, as opposed to imagining it."

Yugi and his friends, including Ryou himself, had always escaped the Realm before. He'd never thought about what it would truly mean to be _trapped_ here.

The piercing cold had returned, crawling up his bare arms, and he found himself shivering and wishing for a fire. The closest Ryou could find was the card Chain Energy, which made bands of golden light wrap around the target and prevent them from moving. Ryou stared at it and pondered his options—use it on himself and be rendered helpless, but warm, or save it and freeze. Death seemed likely either way, but Ryou decided he'd rather die warm.

"Please watch over me," he told Happy Lover. The creature nodded, making the axe come dangerously close to Ryou's face, but it soon fluttered safely above him. Ryou folded his jacket on the ground as a makeshift pillow, then raised the card.

"Chain Energy!" When nothing happened, he amended his statement with "The target is, er, myself." The streams of light wrapped around him tighter than expected, but they did give off warmth. Ryou tried not to think about how pathetic he must look, curled up and bound by his own choice. He was grateful that the Spirit of the Ring wasn't around to see this.

He settled down as much as he could, trusting Happy Lover to defend him should anything attempt to attack in the meantime. Ryou just hoped nothing stronger than it came along. Perhaps if he'd used another Axe of Despair… but he was already so tired…

Ryou's rest was uneasy, and when he opened his eyes, the chains were gone. He was warmer now, but to his dismay, he felt just as tired as when he'd first laid down—perhaps even more so, since he was still hungry. A low moan caught his attention, and he watched as an undead creature shambled towards him, ignoring Happy Lover. Its red arms were emaciated and veiny, and it wore black and gold armor and turquoise pants. Ryou scrambled back as it moved closer.

"Attack it," he cried, and Happy Lover was quick to obey. Eyes bleary and unfocused, Ryou only recognized the creature as Newdoria after Happy Lover had successfully defeated it—and he remembered Newdoria's effect when it was far too late.

Wraithlike hands extended from the fallen zombie and grabbed Happy Lover, axe and all, dragging it down into the darkness. The cherub struggled to no avail, and its eyes met Ryou's briefly before it disappeared completely, smothered by the hands and shadows. The axe went with it. Not even a scrap of feathers remained to show that Happy Lover had existed at all.

Ryou could only stare at the spot where Happy Lover had been. It was one thing to lose it to a monster, but to have it be _his fault_ … He should have remembered that Newdoria destroyed an opposing monster once it was destroyed.

"I'm so sorry," Ryou breathed, though he knew the monster couldn't hear him.

After a moment of silence—he had nothing to memorialize it with, and he felt too weak to risk summoning anything that could—Ryou moved on, headed for the object he'd seen earlier. If monsters guarded it, perhaps it could help him. As the boy drew closer, he saw the thing in the distance was a gnarled, twisted tree. Ryou watched it to see if it was simply a tree-like Duel Monster, but upon close examination it appeared to be perfectly normal—to an extent.

The tree was a dull, dark grey, appearing to be made out of stone instead of wood. Its trunk was withered and the branches thin and leafless, but at the very tip of the shortest branch grew what looked like a bunch of grapes. It reminded Ryou of the fairy stories he'd read to his sister Amane when he was younger, before she died: Food that seems too good to be true usually is; apples are more often poisoned than not; never, even if you are starving, eat the food of the dead.

But he _was_ starving, and he'd seen no other source of food or water. For all Ryou know this was the only food in the entire Shadow Realm. He carefully approached the tree and plucked a single piece of fruit from the branches. If the food was poisonous, best not to eat all of them.

The fruit tasted like sand mixed with blood, and Ryou gagged at the flavor, but found no immediate ill effects from eating one. He tried not to think about what such food was doing here; perhaps it was the remains of someone else that'd been banished here, their soul existing now as food for others. Given what Ryou had seen so far, such morbidity wouldn't surprise him—though he sincerely hoped it was merely bad tasting and not anything monstrous.

Still, a meal was a meal. Ryou ate what was left, wiping at his mouth when done, and with nothing better to do he sat and thought, watching the shadows writhe. The fruit had helped him regain his strength, but only some—and his bandaged arm had begun to ache and pulse and throb. His body felt heavier than it did when he'd first arrived here, and coupling that with the lack of sleep as well as other dangers… Staying here too long would surely kill him.

"I have to get out," Ryou breathed through gritted teeth, gingerly touching his arm wound. He flinched at the burst of pain, but it helped him focus, and Ryou drew a monster card and raised it to the darkness. "Headless Knight!"

If summoning Happy Lover had been stressful, summoning Headless Knight was a nightmare. Ryou almost doubled over from the strain, his vision swimming and a buzz in his head building to a roar before the fog in his mind cleared and the armored knight stood before him.

"At ease," he told the knight, who relaxed from his stiff, battle-ready pose. Ryou thought about asking to borrow his shield, but wasn't sure he could carry it—Duel Monsters tended to be larger than humans on average, and the piece of armor was around half the size of his body. With a decent attack and strong defense, Ryou hoped he would be the last thing he'd need to summon for a while—especially after equipping Headless Knight with a Black Pendant, increasing his attack to 1950.

Ryou flinched at a burst of black lightning that was close, too close, to his position. It was time to move on. He signaled for Headless Knight and they started walking, keeping a close eye out for monsters. Ryou idly wondered how the Knight could see at all, with no head, but decided it was best not to question these things.

Some time later, Ryou realized he had no idea how long it'd been since he'd seen another human being. It was getting harder for him to remember what the world outside looked like, with its bright colors, sounds, and smells. His tiredness remained, only increasing the more he walked, and while the edge had been taken off his hunger, he still felt in need of food. He hoped he wasn't getting used to the Shadow Realm, or worse, that it was getting used to him.

Eventually, Ryou was forced to sit down as Headless Knight guarded him. After a moment, a thought came to mind.

"You know," he said suddenly, turning to the Knight, "I haven't written my sister since before Duelist Kingdom. I should probably do that, now that I remember, and since I might die without getting back home and all. Can you use your sword to write into the ground here? I-It won't take long."

Headless Knight nodded and waited as Ryou dictated the letter.

 _Dear Amane,_ he wrote _, I hope you're doing better than I am. Tell Mother I said hello. I've had many adventures since last I wrote, most of them terrifying, and this one is no exception. I've made wonderful friends, though, so it hasn't been all bad. Hopefully I'll be able to tell you more later on._

 _PS: Please send help if you can. Love, Ryou._

Then it happened.

Before he had time to think, to process what was happening to him, an arc of cold, black lightning raced from Ryou to the Shadow Realm itself. The pain hit him so suddenly and completely that all Ryou could do was scream. Headless Knight moved to aid the boy, but the lightning intercepted him and forced him back.

In his mind's eye Ryou caught the edge of a harsh golden light and the sound of a man's laughter, deep and menacing. He didn't recognize the voice, but it wasn't the Spirit of the Ring, and certainly not Yami Yugi, so it could only belong to Marik. The light seemed to grow stronger as Ryou weakened, and he recognized it even through agony as the glow of a Millennium Item.

For a split second Ryou thought he saw Amane and his mother, but that faded as quickly as the lightning and laughter faded. The pain left behind was raw—and the place where the Cat of Ill Omen had scratched him felt twice as bad as when the wounds were first inflicted. Ryou reached for it instinctively and stared, dumbfounded, at his arm.

The scratches hadn't only reopened; they'd intensified, exuding nothingness from the deepest cuts. In the worst areas Ryou could see _through_ his arm, and when his skin wrenched back into place the sharpness of the pain lingered long after the wounds had closed.

"W…what," Ryou managed, at a loss for words. He tried to think it through logically, though logic meant little in a place like this. Lightning had drained him, reopening closed wounds, and Marik's Millennium Item—the Rod, he thought dimly—seemed stronger somehow. And he felt much weaker than before, as if his very soul was hurt by what had happened. The scratches came to mind, and he amended his thoughts.

Not hurt, _shredded_.

Unwanted, a half-buried memory of Pegasus in the depths of Duelist Kingdom came to mind, gloating over him and the others he'd caught snooping around. He'd said every soul trapped in the Shadow Realm strengthened his Millennium Eye. Ryou realized it likely held true for the other Items, meaning whenever Marik wished for a quick power boost he could drain what he needed from Ryou.

This couldn't be happening, Ryou thought in a panic. The Spirit of the Ring wouldn't _let_ him die here, unless... unless whatever had happened to send him here had also overwhelmed the Spirit. If that was the case, then he was truly alone.

Either he'd waste away to nothing from starvation, be eaten or torn to shreds by monsters, or have his soul drained until there was nothing left for the sake of someone else's game. The choices weren't pretty.

But even if he died here, he'd die as Ryou Bakura, not the Spirit of the Ring. In a strange way, the thought gave him hope—and resolve to keep going. In duels Yugi and his friends hadn't given up no matter how hopeless the situation had looked; every monster, every card, had its weakness. He couldn't give up now; he still had a monster with him, and a deck, and the promise of—of all the food he could eat when he got out! He had to see his friends, and write to Amane properly, and—

A piercing shriek interrupted his thoughts; Ryou whipped around to see a Curse of Dragon barreling down on him. Headless Knight leapt in front of him to defend him, wielding its sword valiantly, but Ryou remembered that Curse of Dragon's attack points were 2000—50 more than his powered-up knight. As the dragon veered towards him he took off his jacket, aiming to cover its head with the cloth. This didn't work as well as he'd hoped, but it distracted Curse of Dragon for the moment.

Before he could move further, the dragon attacked. A beam of fire shot from its mouth directly at the armored warrior, and soon Headless Knight's armor began to give way, yielding to the heat of the flames. The Black Pendant around its neck shattered, its effect briefly shocking Curse of Dragon, but it only slowed the creature down. Ryou searched his deck frantically for the card he needed—and found it.

"I tribute Headless Knight to summon Dark Ruler Ha Des," he shouted, and the dragon drew back from his words alone. It was the strongest monster he had in terms of attack points. But it would take more than words to summon the fiend; it would take his energy. Ryou braced himself and tried to focus on anything but the pain and weakness that he knew would come.

Even if the effort killed him, he'd go down fighting.

Ryou felt like he was being torn apart, physically and mentally. For a moment he wondered if Curse of Dragon had gotten him after all. But there was a barrier of light between him and the monster, emanating from the card, and so he gritted his teeth and focused, willing with everything he had for the Dark Ruler to materialize and save him.

Headless Knight glowed and vanished, and in its place stood a terrifying fiend with blue skin, ornate, gaudy robes, and a wineglass filled with a murky liquid. According to the card lore, Dark Ruler Ha Des was the ruler of the underworld, which Ryou supposed included places like this as well.

Luckily, as Ryou's card, he was on Ryou's side. The fiend glowered at the dragon and unleashed a beam of darkness at it, dissipating it into the darkness of the Shadow Realm without a word. Then he turned to Ryou and retrieved his jacket for him, lowering his head in obedience. Ryou took it gratefully, reflecting on his adventures so far. He would have quite the story to scare Joey with if he made it out, he thought with a chuckle.

If something stronger than Ha Des came around—which he knew _could_ happen—he readied cards like Change of Heart and Spellbinding Circle, not wanting to lose anything else to the Shadow Realm. But for now, it was back to survival—walking to avoid ambushes, finding what scraps of food he could, resting when he felt the need.

It would have been so easy for him to just give up, Ryou thought. But he hadn't. He'd been hurt, and nearly died several times, but he'd fought. And he was still here.

If he got out—and he _would_ , he promised—he would take what he'd learned here and fight the Spirit of the Ring, too. He wouldn't _let_ him hurt his friends; he'd find a safe place to run to, a church, maybe. He'd fight back as soon as he felt the Spirit trying to take hold.

Maybe he wouldn't succeed.

But Ryou Bakura would fight.


End file.
